Men's Swimming & Diving Headline

Tuesday June 25, 2013Several Gators Swim in Finals on First Night of Phillips 66 National Championships

The
first night of the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships featured five Gator
swimmers. Four of the five finished in the top eight to make the podium as they
look to qualify for the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona.

Former
Gators Ryan Lochte and Conor Dwyer both advanced to the A-Final
of the 100 free after prelim swims this morning. Lochte grabbed fourth in the
event posting a time of 48.58 and Dwyer was seventh touching the wall in a time
of 48.94. Junior Brad deBorde (Longwood, Fla.) took to the water in the
bonus final of the men’s 100 free, finishing 21st overall after a
time of 50.48 in the final.

Two
current members of the UF roster took on the distance events in tonight’s
finals. Junior Alicia Mathieu (Marlborough, Conn.) swam a solid race,
touching the wall first in her heat of the women’s 800 free and posting a
personal-best time of 8:32.80 to take fifth overall.

Also
securing a top five finish was freshman Arthur Frayler (Fort Washington,
Pa.). Frayler dove in for the men’s 1,500 free and clocked a time of 15:13.41
to take fifth in the event.

Prelims
started off strong with junior Elizabeth Beisel (North Kingstown, R.I.)
in the 200 fly. Beisel led the field heading into the last 50 but saved some
strength for the final as she cruised into the wall with a time of 2:11.63 in
the prelims. She advanced to the finals as the sixth seed, but opted not to
swim in the finals.

Lochte
and Dwyer both advanced to the final in the 100 free. Lochte’s time of 49.17
was sixth overall and Dwyer finished in 49.30 with the seventh fastest time in
the prelims.

Freshman
Natalie Hinds (Midland, Texas) took to the water in the 100 free on the
first day at the US World Championship Trials. Hinds touched the wall in a time
of 55.71 to finish 21st. Another Gator dove into the water in the 100 free, as
deBorde was 23rd overall this morning after posting a time of 50.28
in prelims.

Tomorrow’s prelims will begin at 9 a.m. ET
and will include the 200 free, 200 breast, 200 back and 50 fly. Gator
fans are encouraged to follow the swimming and diving program via Twitter or Facebook for
live updates from the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships. For all of the
latest information on Florida swimming, please log on to www.Gatorzone.com where
you can find a recap of each day’s results.